


A New Year’s State of Mind

by Bowieschick4765



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Be Careful What You Wish For, Birthday, F/M, New Year's Eve, New York City
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-03-24 23:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13822101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowieschick4765/pseuds/Bowieschick4765
Summary: “We will open the book, its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book iscalled Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Edith Lovejoy Pierce





	1. “21 and Having Fun”

**Author's Note:**

> This story is being posted a little late for our January Labyrinth Fanfic writing group challenge. It was written in January but is slowly getting edited then posted. I covered most of the requirements (Challenge 1: Birthday: cake/candles, a gift, and a wish. Challenge 2: New Year: Confetti, resolutions (broken or not), and a kiss.) 
> 
> I've been extremely busy but it looks like things are slowing down and I'll be back in the swing of things. February's is done and it too will be posted late. Always, late.
> 
> "Ain't that just like me?"

“Fifteen…Fourteen… Thirteen…Twelve....“ The excited crowd on the television started the countdown to end the old year and ring in the new one. The roar started to build slowly with each descending number.

“Make a wish and blow out your candles Sarah”.

“Eleven…Ten …Nine....”.

“But it’s not midnight yet”.

“So, it doesn’t matter! Shut up and do it already!” insisted Lindsey. She was Sarah’s best friend and roommate since her freshman year of college and was the sister she never had. Lindsey was also a horrible instigator. Sarah shot an irritated side-eye glance at her.

“Eight…Seven…” the voices grew louder.

“Well, technically my birthday is not for a few days and I was gonna wait until it was official to make my wish” Sarah said.

“Yeah but you know I won’t be here to celebrate it with you! I’ll be back at home in boring old Boston.” Lindsey pouted. “You’re my best friend and this is the first birthday of yours since school where we won’t get to hang out so just blow the damn candles out! You’re only 21 once!”

“Six…Five…Four...” the crowd chanted.

Sarah drew in a long breath, closed her eyes and exhaled, extinguishing the large number 2 and 1 candles on top of the beautiful cake Lindsey bought for her.

“Three…Two…One….. HAPPY NEW YEAR!” She made her wish right on the last count of one as Auld Lang Syne played in the background amidst the sound of fireworks, horns and the throngs of cheering voices coming from the television.

“I’ll bet I know what you wished for” Lindsey said smiling, giving her a wink and raising her eyebrows wagging them suggestively as Sarah looked up from the cake, rolling her eyes.

‘ _Oh I’ll bet you don’t!_ ’ she thought. She was not about to tell her what she really wished for.

“Let me guess, you want a million dollars, a new car and for the man of your dreams to literally waltz in and sweep you off of your feet”.

“Romantic notion Linds, but it’s not gonna happen in this lifetime.” Sarah said.

“Have you thought about what I said about Chris? Give him a chance. He could be a keeper!”

“It’s not like that with us. I mean he’s nice and cute and everything but, no”

She knew Lindsey wanted her to hook up with her cute co-worker Chris for the longest time and from her talking about him a lot in their emails and late night phone calls assumed Sarah fancied him a lot more than just a friend. Of course she hated to disappoint her but that was all it was between them, no romantic feelings at all on her side. Lindsey just wanted her to be as happy as she was with her boyfriend Matt. She would want the same for her if the roles were reversed.

Sarah sighed and looked over at the TV frowning at all the happy couples kissing and hugging and thought about how nice it would be to have someone to kiss too as the ball dropped at midnight. That was part of what she wished for but would be too embarrassed to tell Lindsey.

Lindsay was sort of right though. She was still holding on to a dream that her own Prince Charming would rescue her. As cute as Chris was with his blonde curls, nice body and bright blue eyes, he was not it, however there WAS someone who had lurked in the back of her mind ever since she was fifteen years old. The realization that she made a mistake and that she actually cared for him hit her right after she returned home from winning his challenge and retrieving Toby. She based her perfect choice on him and no one ever measured up since then.

‘ _Oh well, I blew that chance a long time ago. No power my ass!_ ’ she thought realizing the irony that now she wished she had never said them even though she meant it back then. If she could only take those words back then things would be different for sure.

Realizing that she was frowning and didn’t want Lindsey to catch her brooding, she turned to her smiling as she took the candles off the cake, holding one in each hand.

“Now you know if I tell you that it won’t come true.” she said sucking the icing off of the bottom of the “2” candle, then the “1” candle. Looking back down at the delicious confection she said “It’s so pretty I don’t want to cut it”

“For the love of God Sarah, cut it! Its dark chocolate and I have been DYING to have some since I saw it in the bakery” she said loudly. Oh God, could Lindsey be any more dramatic?

“Oh, all right you big baby, I’ll cut it. Jeez! Bring me a knife – top drawer to the right of the fridge. Grab a couple of forks too. I’m not eating this with my hands” Sarah instructed.

Lindsey walked in the kitchen and opened the drawer turning to look at Sarah.

“A wish made at the stroke of midnight on new-years is supposed to be guaranteed to come true.”

“Seriously, who told you this?” Sarah questioned.

“I’ve always heard it ever since I was a little girl.” She shrugged her shoulder then paused. “So, are you gonna make me guess what you wished for or keep it a secret from your best friend?”

“You already know my deepest, darkest secrets, what else could I hide from you?” She laughed as Lindsey came back to the table and handed her the knife. Sarah started to cut the first slice.

“Yeah, you got me there! Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!” she said reaching down in her purse into a little paper bag and threw a large handful of glittering confetti high over Sarah’s head, littering her hair, clothing, the cake and the floor around where she stood.

“I hope you know you’re cleaning that mess up” she said as Lindsey swatted her on the rear end.

“Oh who cares, let’s eat cake and drink champagne!” she said plopping down in the chair beside Sarah who was busy brushing confetti off of the seat of hers.

Lindsey had turned 21 months before Sarah and was old enough to legally buy alcohol. Now Sarah was too, even though they both used fake ID’s in college to get into bars to drink. Of course Lindsey spared no expense bringing a bottle of Moet as her gift that probably took her a few weeks of extra pay set aside to pay for. She also gave Sarah a beautiful sterling silver bracelet. Its crystals dangled, catching the light and sparkling like diamonds from its many cuts.

Lindsey popped the cork and poured champagne into two crystal flutes on the table as Sarah put the two slices of decadence on a plate, picking the glitter off of the icing as she sat down.

“I’m glad Matty could spare you for the past few days AND tonight especially since this is such a couple-y holiday. Thank you for spending tonight with me instead of him Linds. Oh, thank you for the cake and this gorgeous piece of jewelry.” Lindsey was right about how good she speculated the cake would be as soon as she took the first bite. It was absolutely delicious!

“He’s with his family skiing somewhere, so no big deal, plus I knew you’d be spending it alone and I couldn’t let that happen.” Lindsey said nonchalantly in between bites, chocolate icing spotting her top lip. “Skiing is not my thing anyways, you know that.”

Pointing her fork at Sarah she said, “I would have loved to have put 21 candles on it for you – you know, the kind that stay lit when you try to blow them out. Something flashy. The more candles, the bigger the wish, but I couldn’t find any, so you got two numbers instead. Voila!”

“Well you have to wait until September before you get your gift. It might not be expensive champagne or jewelry, but I will make sure you get something really good.” Sarah said.

“It had better be a good one!” She laughed and Sarah threw some of the glittery confetti at her that she collected on the table. Putting the plate down she threw some back at her.

“Oooh, let’s make a toast” Lindsey stood up from the table, grabbing Sarah by the hand suddenly almost making her drop the bite of cake on the fork she was holding.

“Let’s do it at the window. We can probably see some of the lights from the square”.

She pulled Sarah up from her seat and over to the window because that seemed the most appropriate place to be. Mere blocks away revelers were still in full celebration in Times Square and even though Sarah’s apartment was small, she still had a good view of things since hers was the top floor of the four story building. The massive glow of lights in the distance shone even though the square itself wasn’t visible. The window also looked down into a small park with its playground, large trees and green space. The canopy of some of the trees stretched close to her window where down below there was a small group of people gathered there to celebrate, sparklers in hand waving them about. It made the occasion all the more festive.

Under normal circumstances the both of them would be right smack in the middle of the melee as Lindsey loved huge crowds and lots of noise and would drag Sarah along, but she was glad they chose to stay in tonight – she just wasn’t feeling it. At least this year it wasn’t bitter cold or snowy if they did decide at the spur of the moment to go anyways.

Running back to the table and grabbing the glasses, Lindsey resumed her spot at the window with Sarah. Raising her glass she spoke. “Let’s make a resolution to still spend every birthday together, whether we’re single or not until we are little old widowed, gray haired ladies in a big old house with fifty cats!” That statement made Sarah laugh hard.

“You’ve got a deal – no cats though.” Sarah stopped laughing and cleared her throat.

“I resolve to always celebrate our friendship for as long as we both shall live” and added “Single or not.” She raised her glass “Happy New Year Linds!”

Lindsey interjected “As far as being single, you’re a good person. He’s out there Sarah, don’t give up. Every New Year gives you a good place to start over. Just have faith”. She then winked at Sarah and said “Happy birthday!”

“Cheers!” The crystal flutes clinked together and a resolution was made.

Perched out of the girl’s sight on one of the branches outside the window, a set of sharp eyes watched them through the window with a particular interest, especially in Sarah.


	2. “No Time like the presents”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language  
> And next year’s words await another voice”  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
> T.S. Elliot

They both stayed up until three in the morning talking and laughing like they did back at school but since Lindsey had an early flight it was time to wind down so they could get a decent amount of sleep. She would have to be up and out of Sarah’s apartment by 9AM to catch a cab to JFK and make her flight on time.

“Seems like just yesterday doesn’t it?” Lindsey said as they both climbed in Sarah’s Queen sized bed getting ready for sleep. “Well, except our dorm seemed a whole lot bigger than this cracker-box place.”

“It’s not THAT small!” Sarah retorted with a snort.

“Jesus Sarah, the bed almost takes up the whole room!” It didn’t in reality. Lindsey was being a bit overdramatic as usual. “Your place smells a lot better though I have to say.” she laughed.

“Yeah, well we both had our own beds there too and I wouldn’t have to hear you snore this close up in my ears like you’ll probably do tonight! You sound like a chainsaw!” Sarah replied.

“I don’t snore as bad as you do!” Lindsey kicked her shin under the covers which made Sarah kick back then they were play fighting, slapping at each other and giggling like little seven year old girls. Good thing her bed was big enough to allow them plenty of room to not end up hurting each other by accident. Plus Sarah would never dream of making Lindsey sleep on the couch. That’s not how you treat company and Sarah was taught better than that.

“Goodnight Sarah”

“Good night, sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite” both girls said in unison followed by childish giggling. That was what they said each night after they turned the lights off in the dorm.

“Goodnight Linds.”

Sarah switched off the light beside her bed and the only light illuminating the room was the soft glow of the nightlight in the hall.

The set of eyes had continued to watch through the window until the light went out in her apartment, flying away several minutes later.

Those observant eyes belonged to a rather large bird. Owls in the city, especially Manhattan were not uncommon – they had habitats in most parks, especially Central Park. Sarah had noticed on several occasions wings flying through the trees in her park and thought that they were way larger than any pigeon she had ever seen. It caught her off guard the first time she saw it as she was moving in because it reminded her of a certain night she made the acquaintance of one. After that she never paid much mind to it though she did see it quite a bit.

It only took a short while before the girls drifted off to sleep, the combination of alcohol and fatigue hitting them early.

She walked Lindsey out the next morning when her cab came and was sad to see her go, but in a few months she planned to fly out to Boston for a few days to visit her. She waved at Lindsey until the cab drove around the corner and out of sight, sighed then walked back inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week flew by and Sarah arrived home from taking off from work at noon on that Friday – her birthday. As soon as she got inside her apartment and put her keys down, the phone rang. Frowning, she picked it up to answer recognizing the number on the ID.

“Hello Sarah, happy birthday dear!” It was Irene. “I called your office and they said that you had left for the day”

“Yeah, well I…”

Her stepmother (or step-monster as Sarah called her as a teen) never gave her time to finish the sentence as she continued. “Your father wanted me to call to ask if you had plans tonight for your birthday. We’re driving into the city shortly and we’d like to take you to dinner at Spillane’s on 9th. We already have a reservation made. Sorry this is such short notice”.

‘ _Yeah, sure she was sorry._ ’ Sarah thought

She wanted to lie and say that she had plans with Lindsey but Irene surely would see through that and would never take no for an answer so she relented.

“Is Toby coming?” she asked

“Unfortunately no, he is having a sleepover with some of the boys from school”. She wondered if Irene made sure she and Toby didn’t get too close to each other, therefore the sleepover.

“You know, he’s seven now and these things are boring to him so he wants to be with his friends” Of course Sarah was disappointed. Sighing, she agreed to meet them at the restaurant which was conveniently a few blocks from her apartment.

“Ok, we will see you at six o’clock. Goodbye darling!” she said in her sweet as saccharine voice before she hung up.

The owl was back on the branch outside her window watching her leaning against the wall, phone still in hand, exasperated look on her face. He continued to watch her for the next few hours as she moved about the apartment, his eyes taking everything in.

She showered, dressed and by five thirty walked out the door to meet her parents. The mismatched set of eyes then followed her up the street until she turned the corner out of sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dinner went well and her father was his usual jovial self. Irene was more than pleasant which made the night easier. She really wished that Toby would have been there though because she really missed his sweet face. She guessed Irene was still leery about her being around her stepbrother for fear of her talking about fairies, goblins or other nonsense and having him believe it all. She spent enough time in therapy that they forced her to go to after that to know better than to bring it up in front of her parents so she stayed silent for the past six years.

Walking out of the restaurant with her parents into the brisk, cold night air Sarah said goodbye to them and headed in the direction of her building. She was glad that she could now just kick back and relax. Dinner took less time than she expected it to.

Her parents had bought her a necklace which strangely enough, almost matched Lindsey’s gift perfectly. The crystal pendant sparkled and shined as she moved its faceted surface when she opened the little blue Tiffany box. She didn’t take it out of the box for fear of getting mugged in the few blocks she needed to go so she pushed it down deep in her pocket for safety.


	3. “A New Year with an Old Friend”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start,  
> Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending”  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
> Carl Bard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still editing the naughty bits of Chapter 3 and will post within the next day or so

Walking into the front door she fumbled for the light switch and nothing happened. Flipping it up and down again and again it still wouldn’t switch on no matter how many times she tried. Luckily the blinds were still open and there was just enough light to see her way around.

“Oh great, that’s just what I need – a power outage” she said aloud. But wait, there was light in the hallway when she came in and other apartments had power! Her bills had been paid so that wouldn’t be a reason. “What the Hell?”

She heard a scuffling noise coming from the left in the Living Room close to her and froze right where she stood. Footsteps coming slowly in her direction but she still couldn’t see who or what it was.

‘ _Oh my God, there is a burglar in my house!_ ’ Her heart was about to beat out of her chest. ‘ _Stay calm Sarah, stay calm’_ she kept repeating it in her mind.

“Who’s there?” she said in a very brave voice “I have a weapon and WILL use it. Show yourself!” she grabbed the mace from her purse readying for an attack.

He was about to step out of the shadows when in one swift movement she shrieked and spun around, raising the can of mace high enough to spray whoever it was in the face and hope she hit them, but a strong hand caught her by the wrist.

“Hello Sarah”.

The voice was the same silky, fluid baritone she remembered from years ago purring at her. Her mouth flew open, body stiffened and chills ran down her arms, especially the one he still held tightly by her wrist. She thought she’d never hear him speak her name ever again.

“Jareth?” she said as she dropped the can of spray to the floor.

Pulling her into the light that illuminated part of the room from the streetlights below, she was right in her assumption. It WAS Jareth. How could this be that he was back and in HER apartment? What did he want? Didn’t she send him away for good? Too many questions to ask.

“Did you miss me Sarah?” he said cocking his head to side slightly and tilting his chin up. He seemed amused that he scared her half out of her wits!

Words escaped her and all she could do was to stare at him in surprise, definitely taken aback as she withdrew her wrist from his grasp.

"Have you gone deaf?" he asked as if she were still dealing with the same sulky teenager. "I said, 'DID YOU MISS ME?” His voice grew louder.

“Oh my God, you scared the Hell out of me!" she cried. “H-h-how did you get in here? WHY are you here?” she stammered. “Toby?”

Managing to find the flashlight she kept on the kitchen counter she lit a candle then tried the switch again with no results. She could see him much better now that her eyes adjusted to the low light and wanted to slap the cocky expression off of his face.

He stood there looking at her not saying a word, just smiling, and she felt anger start to rise.

“No answer?” she said sarcastically.

“The boy is safe, I can assure you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, her rapid heartbeat starting to slow down just a little.

“OK, well did you come back looking for an apology from me or did you think I wished someone else away?”

Jareth snorted. "An apology? Yes, that would be nice but that's not all of what I've come back to get out of you," he remarked, a sly smile on his lips.

"Well then why are you here?" she asked.

"Miss me?" he asked again.

“Missing you would be a useless point to argue right now especially when you show up here out of nowhere after all these years. And then you won’t tell me why.”

Pausing to retrace his words in her brain to make sure he said what she thought he said, she turned and asked “What did you mean by ‘that’s not all you were going to get out of me’?"

“Happy birthday Sarah” he said ignoring her last question. “I‘m here to grant your wish”

"And? What's in this for you?" She knew he had to have some kind of ulterior motive - he always did.

His gaze quickly disconnected from hers and slowly made its way down her body and Sarah felt herself blushing profusely. Her anger gave way to another emotion. Was it desire? She could feel the heat rising in her inner core and spread downward.

Maybe she shouldn't have asked him that question.

“But how did you know it was today?”.

He smiled surreptitiously, “Let’s just say that a little birdie told me”.

“And just how do you know what I wished for? I never told anyone, not even Lindsey.”

"Sarah, Sarah" he drawled. "You give me so little credit"

Stepping over to the window he looked out at the trees then back at her. “I have ways of knowing”.

‘ _Of course he knew’_ she thought ‘ _he probably sent his nosy little goblins to spy on_ her’.

He paused. “You just have to be careful of what you wish for”.

“That almost sounds like a warning” she said.

“I consider it more of a dare” he replied.

She bit her bottom lip then looked straight in his otherworldly eyes. Those were the same eyes that burned right through her six years ago. Back then she bolted and couldn’t understand why. ‘ _Oh yeah, Toby’_ ' she reminded herself. But now she had the chance to see just exactly where this was going to lead her and she didn’t want to run. She WANTED something to happen.

“A dare?” she said challenging him.

“You can call it that. The question is are you brave enough now to take the chance on something you’ve wanted for so many years?”.

“And you think you know what it is that I want so badly?” she tilted her head.

“I do and so do you. All you have to do is say the words.” He said “And words can be very serious Sarah. Sometimes they are so powerful that you can’t take them back and you spend a lifetime of regret, but there ARE certain _circumstances_ where they can be redeemed. ” he paused then continued. “A very special wish perhaps”

“Like one on a New Years Eve I suppose? Lindsey said that one made on that night would come true”

“Yes, or on one’s birthday. The same wish you’ve made every birthday?”

“What? You can’t possibly know.” she said and looked at him through narrowed eyes. _Or could he_? The look in his eyes said otherwise.

“But HOW?”

There was only one way to find out. She would have to use his attraction to her to call his bluff and it was obvious she provoked more than just a simple interest. ' _Well, here goes nothing_ ' she thought and stepped in closer to him, not quite touching his body with any part of hers.

“I’m going to ask again Jareth. How do you know what I want?” she pleaded, catching his half-lidded stare. His eyes moved to her lips. She was having an effect on him and was enjoying watching his reactions, especially when his lips parted when she said his name.

“Enlighten me…" she half whispered and apparently the tactic was working because he shifted uncomfortably.

Her heart was pounding, but she wanted to make him say it. Smiling coyly up at him at him she let her fingers reach up to take a lock of his long hair teasingly between them.

"Please, Jareth?"

She was so close he could feel the heat coming from her which started to arouse him. It surprised him that she wasn’t angry anymore but was actually trying to seduce him…..and he was enjoying every minute of it.

He drew a ragged breath. It was his plan to seduce her, not the other way around.

“It started in the ballroom. Apparently I - or we - no YOU, rather, have some unfinished business."

"I'm sorry, what unfinished business?" Sarah asked, tilting her head with interest and slowly eased her body against his. Her breasts were against his chest and she felt something that was definitely not his codpiece hard against her stomach. Hoggle would never approve of her flirting with Jareth! She could just hear him now warning her about how dangerous Jareth was.

"Don't trust that snake for one minute little Missy! Battin' your lashes at him ain't gonna get you what you want! Ya want to back to the oubliette again? This time I ain't gonna save ya!"

Warning or not, she could hardly believe the effect her closeness was having on him. She liked it, but now it was having just as much of an effect on her. She was about to give in.

“I do believe it involved a kiss.” His voice was soft and enticing.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Sarah asked, tilting her head with interest.

Jareth pressed his hand to the side of her face, stroking his thumb along her cheek. He was unable to remember his plan with Sarah looking at him like that. It was getting harder to breathe and his tongue twitched and licked his lips. "I didn’t really come back just for your wish…"

Sarah went up on her tiptoes and tilted her mouth toward his, her hypnotic gaze beckoning him closer.

"Uh huh…" she breathed, "Go on..."

"I was sent back to you because…" His mouth tingled and he wanted to kiss her so bad, but he was effectively paralyzed, forgetting what he was saying. A pulsing started in his cock.

“I…" He moaned softly, his thoughts clouding over under Sarah’s closeness. He didn't know what she was up to but he was in no position to argue about it. A gasp escaped him as he felt his pants growing tighter around his groin when he shifted against her. The friction only made it worse.

“I came back to finish what we started that night at the ball – among other things. It was what you wished for.” ‘ _And what I wished for too_ ’ Jareth thought ‘ _Another_ _reason I’m here’._

Well he hit the nail on the head! Sarah figured he must also know how many times she regretted sending him away, why else would he come back?

A wicked smile crossed her lips. “OK, so now you know the truth. What are you going to do and why did you wait for so long?” she asked. “No wait, I don’t want to know right now”.

 Sarah flung her arms around Jareth and clung to him which caught him off guard. She closed her eyes and reveling in the feel of his body against her. It caused a shiver to run through her body, but not in a bad way.

Jareth hesitated a moment, then wrapped his arms tightly around her returning the embrace. He could feel her shaking a little and it left him nervous and unsure of what to say or do. He didn't like being at a disadvantage like this. When Sarah squeezed him harder and sighed he gently lowered his face into her hair breathing her in. She smelled of a sweet perfume and fresh air.

 The feeling it produced inside him ignited a shiver and Sarah’s warm breath on his collarbone as she traced both protrusions with her lips was working on igniting something else. His breath quickened and he wished somehow he could pull her even closer. The tension in his groin was about as much as he could stand before he wanted to rip her clothes off and take her right then. But no, he wanted this to be special for her.

 Sarah wanted more of him. She was technically not a virgin anymore and knew her wants and desires and he had been the star in quite a few of her fantasies. But this was her 21st birthday, her entry into adulthood and it was supposed to be exceptional even if she fully didn't know what to do.

Pulling away from him she going to reach down, take him by the hand and lead him to her room but as soon as she turned away and broke contact with his body and the warmth disappeared, something wasn’t right.

He was gone.

 


	4. “Valentines Day”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Love is our true destiny,  
> We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone  
> We find it with another”  
> Thomas Merton

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the February Labyrinth Fanfic challenge for our writing group already written up, just not totally edited but since I've not had much time lately to start any others I decided to combine January and February's challenge. I do believe I will meet all of the requirements! (Challenge 2: Love is in the air! Heart(s) , red(the color), silk, candles/candlelight, & flowers) Enjoy!
> 
> PS: the fifth and final chapter will be be done in a few days!

“Jareth? Where are you?”

Nothing but silence.  She looked around only to find her apartment was empty, bereft of light other than the candle she lit earlier in the Kitchen.  Walking to her room she half expected him to be undressed in her bed waiting for him.  That was just how cocky and self assured he was but he wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that’s where they were going to end up because that was what her wish had been for a very long time.  He was right and she knew it.

Behind her lights flickered and suddenly flooded the room letting her know the power was back on.  She had forgotten that in her panic in the darkness that a couple of switches were still flipped on.   Blowing out the candle she walked back to turn everything off and went back to her room, undressed and slipped into bed.  She slept off and on the rest of the night and very fitfully at that.

For the next several days she constantly looked for him everywhere she went – over her shoulder, at work, in the crowds of people while she was out shopping and each time she walked into her home half-expecting him to be there and was always met with bitter disappointment.  She had come so very close to getting the one thing that would have made her happy.  Granted seven years ago he fascinated her but also scared the shit out of her but now she was more equipped to handle him.  It was obvious what he wanted then but she was just too young to understand it.  She was an adult now and things were much different.

It seemed in the meantime that her co-worker Chris was being a little more attentive too but she remained cool and cordial.  She kept him at arm’s length but he kept badgering her to go to lunch one day with him and she gave in and went.  It surprised her that she actually enjoyed herself and it took her mind of of sulking about Jareth. Maybe Lindsey was right, she should give him a chance. It was obvious Jareth wasn’t coming back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over a month went by and still nothing from Jareth.  She sat and stared out of the window of her office sullenly.  It was starting to really piss her off that he appeared on her birthday and just when she was about be the happiest she had been in such a long time then he just disappears without a trace – not even a single smidge of glitter that he always left in his wake.  He must be punishing her for sending him away and this was his revenge on her.  It was a harsh realization.

Today was one of those days it was really getting to her and there was a sudden urge to get out of her office just for a breather.  She got up out of the chair and stalked down the hallway towards the bathroom blatantly ignoring her co-workers to keep from being drawn onto conversation.

“Well, screw him!  If Chris asks me on a real date, damn it I’m going to go” she said rebelliously to her reflection in the ladies room mirror.  Thankfully their lunch date didn’t put too much pressure on her.  Chris was somewhat quiet the whole time they ate and at times hardly even looked up at her. Maybe it was his shyness but then again it was probably pretty obvious to him she was pining over someone else and he might have some serious competition.  Either way, it was just nice for Sarah to have a distraction. But still if he did ask she’d go out just to prove a point to herself that she still had her own free will (and hopefully Jareth would find out since Mr. Smartypants seemed to know everything anyways)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks later Valentines Day arrived and to Sarah it was nothing special. It was just another ordinary day until a courier walked to her office and tapped on the door barely holding an embarrassingly huge display of red roses. Looking up from her computer screen she knew it was an obvious mistake that the guy was standing at her door. They had to belong to someone else. She never got flowers, not even from her parents, well not since graduation.

“Excuse me” the young man said peeking out from behind the flowers “Sarah Williams?”

“Yes?” she said. “Um, I don’t think those are for me”

“It’s what’s on the card ma’am. Just doing my job.” he said as he walked in and placed them on her desk then tapped the top of her desk twice with his knuckles before turning to leave.  “Enjoy!”

Lisa her frenemy co-worker in the next office poked her head in after the courier walked away to see the vulgar display of roses that almost hid Sarah from view.

“Oooh! Beautiful flowers Sarah!”  She remarked as she bent down to smell them.  Pausing, she asked “Those wouldn’t happen to be from Chris would they?”

Lisa knew damn well Sarah had been single since she started working there but just had to be nosy and used this as a sneaky way to gain information hoping Sarah would volunteer some.  Plus she had the hots for Chris and viewed her as competition but she wanted to reassure her that wasn’t the case – she really viewed him as a friend.  Sarah just hoped that he would take notice of Lisa and quit pestering her.  But how could he NOT notice her?  She flaunted herself flagrantly in front of him every chance she got.  It was really quite annoying but also sort of amusing.

“Well I don’t know.  I haven’t looked at the card yet”.

Lisa didn’t give her a chance to look at it as she snatched it off the front and read it out loud.

“Just fear me, Love me…….  What in the Hell does that mean?"   She flipped the card over looking at the back to see if there were any other clues and looked at Sarah quizzically as she handed the card to her.

“So, who’s the new boyfriend Sarah? 

She stood there not knowing how to answer Lisa.  Finally she said “Not new. I think it’s just an old boyfriend I ran into recently that’s back to mess with my head a little.”

That satisfied Lisa knowing that Chris was still a free man.  Having gained the intel she was fishing for, she lost interest in conversation with Sarah.

“Well good luck with that” she said quickly and darted towards the door out of her office waving a hand behind her. “I need to go check emails now!  Ta Ta!”

She looked at the card again in her hand.  No name or initial, just a little red heart drawn on it under the message.

Sarah couldn’t wait to leave work and go home.  Her head was starting to hurt and looking at the roses didn't help matters because they made her mad and sad at the same time and she didn’t want to see them anymore.  What was really needed was a huge glass of wine to numb her feelings and there was a nice Chenin-Blanc in her fridge just waiting to be opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On her way home she realized that being distracted cause her to skip lunch and now her stomach, feeling deprived, started protesting so she stopped to pick up takeout Chinese food. Quick and easy and no dirty dishes to clean!. By the time she arrived back at her little brownstone building it was already getting dark.

She slid the key in the lock, opened the door and reached for the light switch.  Nothing but darkness,    It was déjà-vu!  She was going to have to talk to her landlord about it because it was only HER apartment that it seemed to keep happening to.  Putting the takeout bag on the table by the door it took just a few moments for her eyes to adjust.

Kicking off her heels by the table she started towards the kitchen.  It was then that she noticed candle light coming from her bedroom.  Grabbing the can of mace from her purse still slung over her shoulder she tiptoed towards her room.  As she came closer her feet touched something cold and soft.  Looking down at the floor there were rose petals scattered here and there.

This had to be the work only one person she knew!

Jareth.


End file.
